The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a boundary layer ingesting blade and, more particularly, to a boundary layer ingesting blade of a compound helicopter.
Propellers are often designed in isolation where ideal inflow conditions are assumed, such as a case in which the free stream airflow velocity upstream of the propeller is uniform and constant. This assumption is often useful since most propellers are used in a tractor configuration where they are disposed upstream of fuselage or a wing and the assumption relatively closely approximates the physics of a tractor propeller. When a propulsor propeller or fan is placed in the wake of a body (i.e., fuselage, wing, strut, etc.), the propulsor propeller or fan is no-longer operating in its design environment and its performance will likely be degraded.